ALIA Information Literacy Forum newsletter page

ALIA Information Literacy Forum

September 2006 Newsletter

New Librarians Symposium and ALIA Information Literacy Forum satellite event

The ALIA Information Literacy Forum will be holding a one-day event of information literacy workshops, information sessions and case study labs as a pre-colloquium to NLS2006 Pathways and Possibilities symposium being held in Sydney December 1-2, 2006 at the University of New South Wales. The Information Literacy Forum satellite event will be held at the UNSW Library on Thursday, 30 November, 2006. Presenters include Dr Christine Bruce, Pamela Stephens, Leanne Lovegrove, Sarah Graham and Clare Glanville. Participation in the workshops will qualify for CPD points. Registration will open in late October.

Guidelines on Information Literacy for Lifelong Learning

The final draft of the Guidelines on Information Literacy for Lifelong Learning is now available on the IFLA website. The Guidelines detail IL concepts, standards and management as well as learning theories and assessment. The paper cites some key Australian writers in the field, including Philip Candy, Christine Bruce and Alan Bundy; it features a comprehensive, and very useful, bibliography.

Auckland University Library Tutorial - Te Punga

Described as an interactive Graphic Novel, Te Punga is an online information literacy tutorial with a difference. The name comes from the Maori word for the anchor stone of a waka, or canoe, and the tutorial itself endeavours to 'anchor you to a point from which you can find your bearings and navigate a course of discovery'. Sound and graphics are superb; affectively using the metaphor of 'being adrift on the sea of information' throughout. There's even a 'lite' version for dial-up modems. Worth a look!

Recent Events

ANZIIL

Australia and New Zealand Institute on Information Literacy held its 6th Symposium on July 5-6 in Brisbane. Keynote speakers were Bill Johnston, Sheila Webber, Gill Best and Kanchana Jayasuriya. Some papers and presentations are available on the Symposium website.

World Library and Information Congress: 72nd IFLA General Conference and Council

The theme for the recent IFLA General Conference and Council, held from 20-24 August in Seoul, South Korea, was 'Libraries: Dynamic Engines for the Knowledge and Information Society'. Many of the papers are available from the Conference website, including several relating to Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning.

Upcoming Events

CLICK06 - ALIA 2006 Biennial Conference The ALIA 2006 Biennial Conference will be held at the new Perth Convention Exhibition Centre from 19-22 September.
The Conference theme Click06: 'Create, Lead, Innovate, Connect, Knowledge' deliberately challenges the norm; playing with words and sounds, and asks you to think about the library profession\'s role and responsibilities in coming years.

Recent Publications

A book on International Information Literacy Experiences will be published by the Information Literacy Section of IFLA. It will include some of the best papers delivered at the last IFLA Conferences, as well as papers written especially for this monograph. If you have an IL experience to share with the world community, please contact, Jesús Lau (please remove '.nospam' from address), editor and InfoLit Chair.

The book Principles of Awareness-Raising for Information Literacy: A Case Study by Richard Sayers has just been published by the UNESCO office in Bangkok. It is freely available in PDF format at the UNESCO portal

The new Journal of Information Literacy (JIL) was launched at the recent Lilac 2006 conference, and is an international, peer reviewed journal. The first issue of this online open access journal will be available in Spring 2006.

The May 2006 issue of Computers in Libraries is a special issue focused on Information Literacy and Information Technology. Articles include 'Building and using a tool to assess Info and Tech Literacy' and a column entitled 'Information Literacy and Technology: they work best when they work together'.

Edwards, S. (2006). Panning for gold information literacy and the Net Lenses Model. Blackwood, S. Aust.: Auslib Press. (ISBN 1875145605)

Hosein, S. (2006). Teaching information literacy at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad. Information Development, 22(2), 110-115.
This paper describes the development of IL100: Foundations of Information Literacy, an online WebCT course designed by the University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus. It will be incorporated into the curriculum, within a current foundation course or as a stand-alone course for credit. Future enhancements will include assessment and evaluation materials.

Neely, T. Y. (2006). Information literacy assessment standards-based tools and assignments. Chicago: American Library Association. (ISBN 0838909140 )

Oladokun, O. S. (2006). The networked world of lifelong learning and the challenging role of the library. Information Development, 22(2), 102-109. Discusses the challenging role of the library in supporting lifelong learning, through distance learning programmes and e-learning; outlining the information skills programme at the University of Botswana. Compares current developments in developed and developing countries and discusses alternative strategies; including partnerships with the faculty and collaborative partnerships among libraries, and the impact of information technology.

Whelan, D. L. (2006). Research High. School Library Journal, May, 47-49.
In 2006, one of the two School Library Journal/Thomson Gale Giant Step Award winners was Middletown High School South, New Jersey. The Library encourages its users to use a wider range of sources than just Google. The 1,500 students are required to master a list of 25 in-depth information literacy skills before they graduate.